


coming through the melody (oh, i can feel it)

by iphigenias



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Social Media, falling in love via Taylor Swift, you're my Mariah Carey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:40:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28643088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iphigenias/pseuds/iphigenias
Summary: “Hi, you’re watching TunesbyPatrick, with tunes by me, Patrick."*Patrick is a YouTube cover artist who sings way too much Taylor Swift. David is a reluctant subscriber.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 77
Kudos: 242





	coming through the melody (oh, i can feel it)

**Author's Note:**

> hello schitt's creek fandom!!! i am tragically late to the game watching this show, but hopefully you all can still enjoy this little bit of social media au silliness that evolved from me wanting noah reid to sing taylor swift. the clock's ticking, noah!
> 
> this is also my first time using workskins, so please make sure you've chosen to show creator's style at the top of your screen! let me know if there are any issues and i will endeavour to sort them out, though i am by no means an expert
> 
> title is from kacey musgraves' love is a wild thing. a full (spoilery) list of all the songs patrick sings in this fic can be found in the endnotes. this fic is set in some nebulous au where the roses still have their money plus all their character development and friendships with stevie, twyla, ted, etc. my advice is don't think too hard about it! 
> 
> thank u for reading!

♫

The video starts, as TunesbyPatrick’s videos always do, with an empty chair in front of a bay window. The view outside is summer and golden light. Patrick steps into the frame, guitar in hand, and sits down on the chair.

“Hi, you’re watching TunesbyPatrick, with tunes by me, Patrick,” he says to the camera, testing out a few chords and wincing. “Maybe tuning by Patrick would be more appropriate.” His head dips, eyes half-closed as he adjusts the pegs. “You can probably see behind me what a beautiful day it is outside,” he continues with a smile, “so today I’ll be playing a song that I think really captures that.” Satisfied, he shifts the guitar on his lap and crosses his legs. “Remember to hit subscribe if you like what you hear, and leave suggestions for covers in the comments section below.” He winks. “Country encouraged.”

Without further ado Patrick closes his eyes and begins to play. “ _Green was the colour of the grass where I used to read at Centennial Park…_ ”

“Ugh,” David groans, watching the video through his fingers. “Taylor again? What is wrong with this guy?”

“Ooh, are you watching TunesbyPatrick?” Alexis pokes her head in beside David’s to see the screen. “He’s such a _button_ , David, I can see why you like him!”

“I do not like him,” David says, dragging his hands down his face as Patrick reaches the chorus.

“ _And isn’t it just so pretty to think…_ ”

“Um, you watch him all the time, David,” Alexis replies, standing and flipping her hair over her shoulder. She pats him on the head. “I think it’s cute.”

“I _hate-watch_ him,” David retorts, swatting her hand away. “There’s a difference.”

“Uh huh.” She smiles at him the same way she smiled at Ted when he told them about delivering twin calves from Bob’s sister-in-law’s dairy cow. (The first, and last, time Ted shared a work anecdote at a Rose family dinner.) “So do you want to keep hate-watching or are you coming to Mom’s rehearsal like you promised?”

“ _A string that pulled me_ ,” Patrick sings. David sighs and shuts his laptop.

“Fine, but I’m driving,” he says. “I do not trust that manicure behind a wheel.”

“So you won’t mind if I choose the music?” Alexis asks innocently, and David sighs again, resigning himself to his fate.

♫

TunesbyPatrick was a three-year-old, modest YouTube channel featuring way too many country music covers until Shania Twain herself retweeted Patrick’s _That Don’t Impress Me Much_ video. David had clicked on it out of some perverse desire to see the guy butcher one of the only country songs David could listen to without wanting to bang his head against the wall. Except, well. The cover was _good_. And if David watched the rest of TunesbyPatrick’s video catalogue in chronological order that night, that was his business. It’s not like he _enjoyed_ them. And if he hit subscribe at 2am, adding TunesByPatrick to his carefully curated list that consisted solely of Mariah Carey’s music and lifestyle channels—well, that was David’s business too.

♫

Tunes by Patrick  
@tunesbypatrick

New video out now! Thanks @taylorswift13 for lending me the music (Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes) #tunesbypatrick #folklore youtu.be/tOHcAc3r2kw

❤ 7.8k 10:04 AM • Jun 22, 2020

Taylor Swift✔  
@taylorswift13

replying to  @tunesbypatrick

Love this!

❤ 12.2k 3:20 PM • Jun 22, 2020

♫

Because Alexis is the worst, she gives David a Carrie Underwood album for his birthday. From _2009_. Like, not even a recent release. “Who even uses CD players anymore?” he asks, holding the album between his thumb and forefinger like it’s toxic waste. 

“Your mother and I do all the time!” Johnny interjects, and David presses his lips together.

“Yeah. My point exactly.”

“ _David_.” He can hear the italics in Alexis’ voice. “This is only part one of my present.”

“Oh, God,” David says as she pulls up YouTube on her phone. TunesbyPatrick’s familiar voice plays through the tinny iPhone speaker.

“Hi, you’re watching TunesbyPatrick, with tunes by me, Patrick.” Onscreen, Patrick scrubs at the back of his neck with a broad hand. “So, something a little different today, folks. I’ve had a request from a very special subscriber who shall remain anonymous—” at this point David shoots Alexis a death glare, which would have been effective if she was paying attention to anything other than her phone, “—but, um, happy birthday David! You know who you are.” 

“I will kill you,” David enunciates as Patrick gives his usual subscription spiel. 

“You’re like, so welcome,” Alexis replies. 

“ _You better take it from me_ ,” Patrick begins to sing, “ _that boy is like a disease…_ ”

David lurches from his chair to snatch the phone from Alexis’ grip. She holds it above his reach and they devolve into scuffling on the carpet, punctuated only by Alexis’ “ _ow, David!_ ” as he elbows her in the boob.

“CHILDREN,” Moira exclaims, but neither one of them is listening. 

His voice thin and muffled by David's armpit, TunesbyPatrick continues to sing: “ _He’s a good time cowboy Casanova…_ ”

♫

Tunes by Patrick  
@tunesbypatrick

Thanks for all the love on my @carrieunderwood cover (Dancer) Which should I sing next? #tunesbypatrick

Jesus, Take the Wheel

Two Black Cadillacs

❤ 3.3k 7:14 PM • Jul 7, 2020

♫

"Twenty three percent,” David says to Stevie over their weekly coffee at Twyla’s. “What sane human being devotes twenty three percent of their YouTube channel to Taylor Swift covers?”

“I didn’t know you were passionate enough about this to bring math into it,” Stevie replies. 

David _hmphs_ , and sips his latte. “And like, it’s not even just her recent stuff, which I actually don’t mind, because it deviates from her original country sound and better suits her vocal range.”

“Of course,” Stevie says.

“But he’s covered at least _half_ the tracks from _Fearless_. _Half_ , Stevie.”

“That is a lot,” she allows. 

“And, like? You know how morally opposed I am to country when it’s anyone but Dolly.”

“Right.”

“But like. His covers aren’t _bad_? And I just wish he would consider a wider genre palette because _not bad_ doesn’t mean _good_ and he could be _good_ if he sang anything other than Taylor and country.”

Stevie sucks on her straw. “It sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“One might say too much,” David replies.

Stevie purses her lips. “One might indeed.” She catches David’s eye and he groans.

“ _Please_ don’t laugh at me, okay, it’s hard enough dealing with Alexis about all this.”

She shakes her head quickly. “Oh, I would never.”

Twyla bustles by their table then, depositing the custard tart David ordered and Stevie’s almond croissant, drooping sadly on her plate. “Are you guys talking music?” she asks, eyes shining. “I’m really into country now too.” David opens his mouth to say something but Twyla steamrolls on. “I just put on a playlist I know you’ll _love_ , David.” She walks away as the unmistakeable notes of _Achy Breaky Heart_ begin to filter through the café sound system.

“Please God no,” David grits out, and Stevie hustles him from the café, shoulders shaking with silent laughter which is honestly pretty cruel, given the circumstances. David needs better friends.

♫

alexis✔  
@alittlebit

loving this cover!!!

Tunes by Patrick@tunesbypatrick

So I've been listening to @KaceyMusgraves' Golden Hour on repeat and... #tunesbypatrick #goldenhour youtu.be/zsOe_K3UR0M

❤ 28.4k 11:15 AM • Aug 13, 2020

Tunes by Patrick  
@tunesbypatrick

replying to  @alittlebit

Thanks for the follow! (Smiling Face With Halo)

❤ 371 12:04 PM • Aug 13, 2020

♫

It’s almost time to break out his fall collection when Alexis barrels into their apartment, waving her phone like she’s sending a ship out to sea. “ _Daaviid_ ,” she calls from the door, shucking off her shoes and bounding down the hallway. “David David _David_!”

“Oh my God, _what_.” David slips off his headphones and sends his sister his strongest glare. She breezes right past it and flops on the couch beside him.

“He has Instagram,” she says dramatically.

“Who?” Alexis looks at him, and David clicks. “Um, okay? Why does that warrant interrupting my podcast?”

“Because, _David_ ,” Alexis stresses, “ _he’s cute_!”

David ignores the flutter in his stomach and pushes himself up on the armrest. “You already know what he looks like, Alexis. He has a YouTube.”

“No, but like, he’s _cute_ cute. Also, _a YouTube_? What are you, forty?” She shoves her phone under his nose and David sighs, focusing on the screen. Alexis has pulled up Patrick’s Instagram profile, which has a whopping one post and—David ogles—40k followers already. 

**Hi, you’re viewing TunesbyPatrick** , says his bio, **with photos by me, Patrick**.

Almost unwillingly, David reaches up and taps on the single post to view. He has to bite back the smile that wants to swallow his scowl because Alexis was right. He’s _cute_ cute.

tunesbypatrick **11k** likes  
**tunesbypatrick** Good morning Instagram!  View all 204 comments Sep 2, 2020

“Okay,” David says when he trusts himself to speak. “The cat is cute. He’s still the guy who forced me to listen to Keith Urban.”

“He didn’t hold you at gunpoint, David,” Alexis scoffs. “Trust me, I know how that feels.”

“Jesus Christ,” David says under his breath. He’s still looking at the photo when Alexis plucks the phone from his hand.

“So, should I dm him about your giant crush, or…?”

“I’m the only one who knows where the knives are in this house,” David tells her. Alexis grins and boops his nose before flouncing away. “I’m serious!” he calls after her. “ _Alexis_!”

The front door closes with an ominous bang. David steeples his hands over his mouth. He drops them to his lap and picks up his phone.

**Messages with** tunesbypatrick  
  
**thedavidrose:** hi   
**thedavidrose:** just wanted to apologise in advance for the dms ur about to get from my sister  
**thedavidrose:** this is david rose btw  
**tunesbypatrick:** Funnily enough, I guessed that from the username  
**thedavidrose:** wow do u include stand up in ur repertoire   
**tunesbypatrick:** That's actually a great idea, thank you  
**tunesbypatrick:**...so should I be worried?  
**tunesbypatrick:** About Alexis  
**tunesbypatrick:** I'm sold on the stand up idea  
**thedavidrose:** im not even going to address that  
**thedavidrose:** r u generally an anxious person  
**tunesbypatrick:** That depends  
**tunesbypatrick:** I would say I’m as anxious as the next guy messaging the 2004 Teen Choice Awards Breakout Star while apparently battening down the hatches against his sister  
**thedavidrose:** who even says battening down the hatches  
**tunesbypatrick:** It's a common turn of phrase, David  
**thedavidrose:** who uses COMMAS in DMS  
**tunesbypatrick:** I'm sensing a theme here  
**thedavidrose:** wow  
**thedavidrose:** i cant  
**thedavidrose:** just dont say i didnt warn you  
**tunesbypatrick:** Wouldn't dream of it  
**tunesbypatrick:** Thank you, David (Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes)  


♫

Two hours later, after David locked his phone and tried and failed to relax his heartbeat with sunrise yoga, he picks it back up.

 **tunesbypatrick** started following you  
**tunesbypatrick** mentioned you in a Tweet

Morbidly curious, David thumbs open the notification.

Tunes by Patrick  
@tunesbypatrick

This one’s for you @thedavidrose (cheers @kmillerheidke for the challenge!) #tunesbypatrick #nightflight youtu.be/BbGv0BQEcSc

❤ 6.2k 4:45 PM • Aug 27, 2020

Biting his lip, David clicks the link. It takes him to a new TunesbyPatrick video, posted less than an hour ago. The view outside the bay window is starting to turn red with the oncoming fall. Patrick walks onscreen and settles into the chair. “Hi, you’re watching TunesbyPatrick, with tunes by me, Patrick.” He strums his guitar with a laugh. “Today a friend asked me something, and wouldn’t believe me when I told him the answer. So I thought I’d sing it instead. As always, subscribe if you like what you hear, and drop a line if you want to hear something different.” He clears his throat and begins.

“ _Batten down the hatches, lock up grandma’s ashes, anything that smashes, hide away…_ ”

David watches the whole thing, hand over his mouth. Usually Patrick finishes his videos with a laugh and a shot of him walking to the camera to turn it off, but today he stays in his chair.

“Now do you believe me?” he grins, turning the guitar over on his back so the strap pulls snug across his chest. The image stays pressed firmly into David’s mind, long after the video ends.

♫

david rose.✔  
@thedavidrose

replying to  @tunesbypatrick

jsyk counting lyrics as a "common turn of phrase" is incorrect

❤ 238 6:17 PM • Aug 27, 2020

Tunes by Patrick  
@tunesbypatrick

replying to  @thedavidrose

We do what we have to do.

❤ 142 6:22 PM • Aug 27, 2020

♫

Against David’s better judgement, he starts messaging Patrick almost every day. Usually stupid, teasing stuff—

**Messages with** tunesbypatrick  
  
**thedavidrose:** earth wind and fire? really??  
**tunesbypatrick:** One might call it timeless  
**thedavidrose:** one most certainly might not  


—or complaining about his family— 

**Messages with** tunesbypatrick  
  
**thedavidrose:** if alexis invites one more person to this carefully curated game night i just want u to know it was me who killed her  
**tunesbypatrick:** In the conservatory with a lead pipe, right?  


—or needling Patrick about his life outside of YouTube. 

**Messages with** tunesbypatrick  
  
**thedavidrose:** if you held me at gunpoint i literally could not think of something more boring than business management  
**tunesbypatrick:** Parking lot attendant  
**thedavidrose:** nope still more interesting  


Sometimes, though, it isn't stupid. 

**Messages with** tunesbypatrick  
  
**thedavidrose:** breakup songs arent exactly ur brand but since you picked the best of the lot i guess i can forgive u  
**tunesbypatrick:** Thanks  
**thedavidrose:** not exactly the quip i was expecting  
**thedavidrose:** is everything ok?  
**tunesbypatrick:** Yes  
**tunesbypatrick:** Actually, no  
**tunesbypatrick:** Just ran into my ex-fiancée who I proposed to but broke up with two years ago because I realised I was gay  
**tunesbypatrick:** So, not my best moment  
**thedavidrose:** can i call u?  
**tunesbypatrick:** (XXX) XXX-XXXX  


“Hello?” Patrick’s voice is scratchy on the other end of the phone.

“Hi,” David says, drawing a blank for what to say next. He usually thinks these things through, but Patrick had sounded so down in the chat, and his voice actually _broke_ in the bridge of _Clean_ and what was David meant to do, ignore it? “Um, sorry,” he begins after a long pause. “I don’t really know why—I guess I just wanted—”

Patrick laughs, soft and quiet, down the line. “It’s okay, David.” There’s another pause. “Thank you.”

“Do you,” David swallows, “wanna talk about it?”

“Not really,” Patrick replies. “Is it weird if I say I just wanted to hear your voice?”

David swallows again. He feels too warm in this sweater, 2016 Balenciaga, but he pulls the cuffs down over his knuckles anyway. “You didn’t even know what I sounded like.”

“I’ve seen _A Little Bit Alexis_ , David,” Patrick says, and Jesus Christ, of course he has. David hopes he hasn’t seen the episode with the Number. “I liked the episode with the Number,” he continues, and David closes his eyes in horror.

“Yes, well, this conversation was supposed to be about _you_ , so.”

“I don’t know, David—” he keeps saying David’s name, and it’s kind of making David’s heart do this weird thing in his chest—“this is making me feel better already.”

“Okay, well, if you’re feeling better.” David’s throat feels tight, and he clears it. “I actually have this _thing_ , that I need—I have this thing on, now, so.”

David can hear the smile in Patrick’s voice when he says, “say no more.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

David is clutching the phone to his ear like some geriatric who doesn’t know how speakerphone works. Patrick laughs again and David can picture him doing it, the way he looks in his videos: eyes crinkled, smile lines that David would shudder at on anyone else but look so natural on Patrick, so right; the muscle of his neck, stretched just _so_ as he tilts his head back, broad shoulders shaking. “Thank you, David,” Patrick says on the phone.

“Ciao,” David replies, and hangs up. He stares at the screen. “Ciao,” he repeats. “I just said _ciao_ to that person.” He prays Patrick didn’t hear it.

♫

Tunes by Patrick  
@tunesbypatrick

Ciao means hello and goodbye in Italian, so what better song to sing than a Beatles classic? #tunesbypatrick #thebeatles youtu.be/P2C3f0Atcoo

❤ 10.4k 9:17 AM • Oct 18, 2020

david rose.✔  
@thedavidrose

delete this.

Tunes by Patrick@tunesbypatrick

Ciao means hello and goodbye in Italian, so what better song to sing than a Beatles classic? #tunesbypatrick #thebeatles youtu.be/P2C3f0Atcoo

❤ 30.7k 12:40 PM • Oct 17, 2020

Tunes by Patrick  
@tunesbypatrick

replying to  @thedavidrose

(Face Throwing A Kiss )

❤ 1.8k 12:42 PM • Oct 17, 2020

♫

On Halloween, the Roses dress up as the Addams Family, and it’s only the third most embarrassing family costume they’ve done. Alexis posts a photo to her Instagram and five minutes later, David’s phone buzzes with a call.

“Whatever you’re about to say know that this sweater cost more money than your two guitars combined.”

There’s silence on the other end of phone. Then: “how do you know I have two guitars?”

“Because,” David rubs his forehead, “you alternate between them for your videos, okay, and there is a distinct difference between spruce and cedar.”

“Wow,” Patrick replies. “Most people don’t pay that much attention.”

“Um,” David says. “I’m just. Very observant.”

“Of course,” Patrick says.

“Is there, um, a reason you’re calling?” David asks as he spots Alexis waving him over by the punch bowl. He points to the phone and she throws her hands in an overdramatic shrug. 

“Just wanted to compliment you on your costume choice.”

“I am going to take that compliment, as much as I suspect that it’s insincere.” David stifles a smile and looks at his feet. “So? Do I get a picture of your outfit?” As soon as the words are out of his mouth David cringes, but Patrick either must not notice (unlikely), or has decided to give David a pass on the innuendo (for once).

“No pictures, I’m afraid,” is what he says with a laugh. “I’m meant to be the MC from _Cabaret_ , but there’s just a lot of suspenders and white face powder going on so I’m avoiding cameras as much as possible.” 

David’s mind blanked on _suspenders_ , but he manages to reply, “a wise decision,” and the strain in his voice is worth it for the laugh he receives in return. Patrick does a lot of laughing with David, he’s noticed. It warms him from the inside out like mulled wine. 

“I’ll leave you to it,” Patrick says after a pause in the conversation David hadn’t even noticed. “Happy Halloween, Pugsley.” He hangs up before David can reply.

“Who was _that_?” Alexis asks suddenly, appearing behind David in her own white face powder and Wednesday braids. She hands him a cup of something and takes a sip of her own. 

David slips his phone back in his pocket. “No one,” he says, ignoring the face Alexis makes and moving further into the party. It’s not like Patrick is a secret—Alexis called it a crush in _June_ , for God’s sakes—but something about their conversations makes David want to keep them to himself, at least for a little while longer. Until he figures out what they mean—to him, and to Patrick.

♫

tunesbypatrick **23k** likes  
**tunesbypatrick** Working hard or [insert joke here]  View all 641 comments Nov 7, 2020

♫

Tunes by Patrick  
@tunesbypatrick

She's a little bit Mitski! Thanks @alittlebit for the song request! (Strawberry )(Strawberry )(Strawberry ) #tunesbypatrick #mitski youtu.be/g685pAuKW34

❤ 29.4k 2:18 AM • Nov 19, 2020

♫

Tunes by Patrick  
@tunesbypatrick

replying to  @thedavidrose

Mittens is very disappointed.

❤ 32.3k 8:25 AM • Dec 1, 2020

♫

“And then, he said, and I quote, _Guess I’ll give you more time to oscillate_. Like, who says that?” David takes a disgruntled sip of his hot chocolate as Stevie bursts out laughing. “What? Nothing about this is funny.”

“ _David_ ,” she says once she’s calmed down enough to speak (and why does everyone say his name like that nowadays?), “you like him.”

David gives her a look. “Um, yeah. He’s hot for a guy who wears straight-leg, mid-range denim. And he has these really dextrous fingers that—”

“No,” Stevie interrupts, and her voice is almost gentle, if Stevie could ever be described as such. “You _like_ him.”

David’s hands flex involuntarily around his mug. “What are you, twelve?” Stevie just stares at him. “That’s insane,” he continues. “We’ve never even met.”

“Okay,” she allows. “Then meet him.”

“ _Sure_.”

“I’m serious, David.” She leans forward. “You message him, what, every day?”

“That’s not—”

“I have never seen you smile this much when it’s not the Met Gala,” she interrupts. As if conjured by her words, David’s phone buzzes. Stevie snatches it from his grip before he can see the message. “ _Planned to watch the Blue Jays tonight but I guess I can DVR. If I put you on speakerphone will you quote Sandra word for word?_ ” She looks at David. “He’s skipping his team’s baseball game to watch a romantic comedy with you long-distance.” David feels his face do something funny at her words and he tries to look away but Stevie sees—of course she sees, she sees right through him. “You like him, David,” she repeats. “And I’d bet the Rosebud he likes you, too.”

“…okay,” David says after a moment, feeling horrifically close to tears. “But like. He likes this me—” he points at the phone Stevie’s still holding, “and what if. What if we meet. And he only likes this me. Not—” he gestures to himself, “ _this_ me.”

David’s phone buzzes again. He reads the message over the table. _Just found the sequel on Netflix too. Should we back-to-back it tonight?_

“Somehow, I don’t think that will be a problem,” Stevie says. “But if it is, he doesn’t deserve you, and you should know that sooner rather than later.” She gives David back his phone and pushes her chair from the table. “He’ll love you,” she says, not an ounce of irony in the words, and David makes a face. “Yeah, too weird,” Stevie agrees, leaving David to his hot chocolate and blinking notification light.

♫

**Messages with** tunesbypatrick  
  
**thedavidrose:** heres a fun idea  
**thedavidrose:** we have a holiday gala at our toronto house every year  
**thedavidrose:** and if u wanted  
**thedavidrose:** my moms laid aside a ticket for u  
**tunesbypatrick:** You are the only person I know who can use the phrase “our Toronto house” unironically  
**thedavidrose:** u have literally had several conversations with taylor swift  
**tunesbypatrick:** And yes, by the way  
**tunesbypatrick:** I would love to come  
**tunesbypatrick:** Tell "your mom" thank you  
**thedavidrose:** um whats this " "  
**thedavidrose:** my mom literally invited u  
**thedavidrose:** so idk what those are doing in this conversation  
**tunesbypatrick:** "Sure"  
**tunesbypatrick:** So will I be witness to a certain mother and son duet at this gala?  
**thedavidrose:** ok for that ur wearing a full tux  
**tunesbypatrick:** Is rented okay?  
**thedavidrose:** bring a dagger while ur at it  
**thedavidrose:** to stab me in the back  
**tunesbypatrick:** Looking forward to it, David  


♫

It’s snowing the day of the gala, and David spends the daylight hours flitting from room to room of the house, adjusting decorations and instructing caterers and trying very hard not to think about Patrick.

Patrick in a tux.

Patrick in a tux in David’s house, not the other side of a computer screen.

“Oh my God, David,” Alexis says when he straightens the framed baroque mirror for the third time in as many hours. “Patrick isn’t going to be looking at anything besides you, so just calm down, okay? You’re giving yourself frown lines.”

David looks at her in horror. “Why would you _say_ that?” He leans so closely into the mirror his nose almost touches the surface. His skin is smooth, moisturised, just this side of rosy from running around all afternoon. “Very funny,” he says under his breath, leaning back and straightening the mirror again. Alexis sighs obnoxiously and leaves the room. 

The guests start filtering in from eight, and David migrates to the hor d’oeuvres to calm his fluttering pulse. He’d told Patrick the time, right? Oh God, he’d told him the _date_ , hadn’t he?

David fishes his phone from his pocket and frantically thumbs open their conversation. He’s scrolling through the chat, phone in one hand, duck pancake in the other, when a voice behind him says: “I knew I should’ve called ahead. Pretty sure your dad and I are wearing the same suit.”

David turns, and Patrick is there.

He looks—

He’s so—

“Unless that’s a seven thousand dollar Tom Ford tux,” David manages to reply, “I doubt it.”

Patrick grins. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.” He tugs on the lapel of his jacket, and David wants to lean in and fix it for him. Or lean in just to press a hand to Patrick’s chest, because he looks _good_. His hair’s slightly longer than David’s seen it in videos, a hint of curls at the tips David is aching to see, and his suit is dark blue, fitted around the shoulders and the waist in a way David can’t stop staring at that, and he’s pretty sure Patrick’s noticed by now but he can’t bring himself to look away. “Happy holidays, David,” Patrick continues, and then he’s opening his arms for a hug and David steps into them without hesitation, without question.

Patrick is warm, and smells like cedar. “Happy holidays to you,” David replies, lingering in the hug a second longer than normal. When he pulls back, he swears Patrick is blushing. “So,” David says, fighting to keep his hands at his sides. “Duck pancake?”

“Please, I haven’t eaten all day.” Patrick scoops one from the plate and practically inhales it. David presses his lips together to stop from smiling.

“Why’s that?”

Patrick swallows. “Oh, nothing,” he says. “Just nerves, you know. So many famous people here.”

This time David does smile. “I hope you’re including yourself in that category.” Patrick looks at him, eyes wide and round and endearing. “ _Everyone_ watches your channel. You know that, right?”

“I guess,” Patrick says. “I never really… thought about it. I only care about one subscriber, anyway.”

David’s heart misses a beat. “Oh?”

Just as Patrick opens his mouth to reply, Alexis appears out of nowhere, throwing her arms around him and squeezing. Patrick laughs and hugs her back. “Oh my God, _hi_ , it’s so nice to finally meet you!” she says. “You are so much cuter in person.”

“Okay, Alexis,” David begins, but she ignores him.

“You brought your guitar like we talked about, right?” she asks.

“Um, what,” David says.

“Yeah, it’s in the car.” Patrick looks at David and gives a small shrug. David stares back.

“Okay, perfect, so I was thinking maybe nine-thirty? When everyone’s settled and a few glasses in.”

“Sounds good to me,” Patrick says. Alexis beams, hugs him again, and flounces away. David is still staring. Patrick scratches the back of his neck. “Um,” he says. “Surprise?”

David is going to need a stiff drink to get through this. _Stiff_. 

His nerves return to the conversation full force as they spend the next hour talking about Sandra Bullock movies, the outfits some of the guests have made choices with, and the questionable décor Moira selected for the party. At one point David spots Stevie over Patrick’s shoulder. He gives her as subtle a _come here_ look as he can. She smiles back and walks in the opposite direction. 

It’s nine-twenty when Patrick excuses himself to get his guitar. David makes a beeline for Alexis at the staircase, where an impromptu stage has been set up. “What the fuck?” he says in a tone as calm as he can muster. Alexis has the nerve to look surprised.

“What?” she asks. “He’s a good singer, David. It was this or you and Mom doing the Number in front of him.”

“You disgust me,” he tells her. She pulls a face and goes back to adjusting the microphone stand. David is about to unplug the cord when he spots Patrick walk back inside, guitar slung over his shoulder in a way that makes David’s mouth go dry.

“Good to go,” he says with a bright smile, and Alexis pinches his cheek. David swats her hand away before she can pinch his too.

“Um, break a leg, or whatever.” He can’t meet Patrick’s gaze.

The “thank you, David,” he gets in return makes him smile, though.

David migrates back to the hor d’oeuvres table as Patrick sets up onstage. Stevie parks herself beside him, sipping from a longneck he has no idea they were even serving. “Don’t say it,” he tells her, before she can even open her mouth. She grins into her beer and says nothing.

“Um, hi,” Patrick says into the mic, catching the attention of the crowd. “I’m Patrick Brewer, and Alexis has asked me to sing something for you all tonight.” As he strums his guitar, David realises with a jolt that this is the first time he’s heard Patrick’s last name. His stomach goes all twisty at the thought. “I would like to dedicate this song to a special someone,” Patrick continues. David’s heart reaches his throat, and he swears Patrick looks at him across the room. “Um, I hope you know who you are.”

His fingers pluck out a gentle melody on the strings, and after a moment he leans in, half-closing his eyes, and begins to sing.

“ _I call you when I need you, my heart’s on fire…_ ”

Stevie clutches his sleeve. “David.”

“ _You come to me, wild and wild..._ ”

There’s a static in David’s ears and a mistiness in his eyes that he shakes his head to get rid of. Stevie is still holding onto him, but he can’t look away from the stage, from Patrick, from that vision made real and golden in front of him.

“ _It can’t be wrong, take my heart and make it strong, babe_.” Patrick’s eyes find David’s, then, and he holds them in place. “ _You’re simply the best, better than all the rest. Better than anyone, anyone I’ve ever met. And I’m stuck on your heart…_ ”

“David,” Stevie says again.

“I know,” he whispers back. 

“ _Baby, I would rather be dead…_ ”

David spends the rest of the song alternating between looking at Patrick and the ceiling, blinking rapidly to staunch the tears he feels coming. There is a warmth suffusing his chest, like a beam of sunlight splitting the clouds after a storm, and it’s all he can do to just stand there and watch as Patrick calls down the sun. He’s never felt like this before. No one’s ever made him feel like this. 

“ _Better than anyone_ ,” Patrick sings, “ _anyone I’ve ever met. Oh, you’re the best_.” He finishes with a chord and the biggest smile David has ever seen on his face; beautiful and blinding, it makes David’s heart squeeze in his chest. “Thank you,” Patrick says into the mic, stepping off stage to appreciative, off-beat applause. He cuts across the crowd to David, who is standing by the hor d’oeuvres with a hand over his mouth, shaking his head. Stevie has melted away somewhere, so when Patrick reaches him they could almost be alone. 

“Hi,” Patrick says, hands in his pockets.

“Hi,” David replies, lowering his hand to his chest. “That was, um, different.”

“Yeah, thought I’d try something new.” Patrick looks at his feet. “Didn’t think, ah, the person I was singing to would appreciate another country cover.”

“An astute observation.” Patrick looks up, and he’s smiling, and David can’t help but smile back. “I think the lucky recipient was surprised but, um, impressed. By your bold choice.”

Patrick is still smiling at him, and David’s palms are sweating, and he’s pretty sure somewhere Alexis and Stevie and maybe his parents are watching, and it’s the easiest thing in the world to sway forward and kiss Patrick like he’s wanted to do all night.

Patrick’s hand comes to David’s cheek. David covers it with his own.

They kiss until the kiss ends.

David can’t look anywhere but Patrick’s smile.

“Thank you,” Patrick says softly. David tilts his head.

“For what?”

“For inviting me,” says Patrick. “For calling me. For listening to me.”

“Fortunately,” David says, when he trusts himself to speak, “I am a very generous person.”

Patrick grins, and David kisses him again, reeling him in close though careful not to knock his guitar. And it’s so fucking Taylor Swift David should be mad, but he’ll forgive it, just this once.

♫

Tunes by Patrick✔  
@tunesbypatrick

Happy birthday @thedavidrose! I love you. youtu.be/tov22NtCMC4

❤ 120.7k 7:41 AM • Jul 2, 2021

Mariah Carey✔  
@MariahCarey

replying to  @tunesbypatrick and @thedavidrose

(Person Raising Both Hands In Celebration ≊ Person Raising Hands)

❤ 78.2k 11:27 AM • Jul 2, 2021

♫

**Author's Note:**

> songs sung by tunesbypatrick (if you copy the youtube links in his tweets it will take u to the songs):
> 
> \- invisible string, taylor swift  
> \- that don’t impress me much, shania twain  
> \- the lakes, taylor swift  
> \- cowboy casanova, carrie underwood  
> \- velvet elvis, kacey musgraves  
> \- your friends will tell you who you are, kate miller-heidke (shoutout to my aussie readers on this one lol)  
> \- september, earth, wind and fire  
> \- clean, taylor swift  
> \- hello, goodbye, the beatles  
> \- strawberry blond, mitski  
> \- simply the best, tina turner  
> \- vision of love, mariah carey
> 
> workskin credits:
> 
> \- [gadaursan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gadaursan/pseuds/gadaursan) for the tweets and instagram post  
> \- [xslytherclawx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx) for the instagram dms  
> \- [CodenameCarrot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodenameCarrot/pseuds/CodenameCarrot) for the emojis
> 
> find me on twitter @[svnsvstvrk](https://twitter.com/svnsvstvrk)!
> 
>  **edit 12/01/21:** i am absolutely blown away by the response to this fic in just a couple of days! thank you so much everyone who has made my first foray into this fandom such a lovely experience <3


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